Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then he said, “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
- BSB He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- NKJV Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”
- NASB Then he said, “May God do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.”
- NLT “May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king vows to behead Elisha that very day, blaming the prophet for the disaster. His oath misdirects guilt away from his own sin.
Overview
In his fury the king swears a self-curse if Elisha's head remains on him by day's end. He scapegoats the prophet rather than facing the nation's covenant unfaithfulness as the cause. The reaction reveals a hardened heart that resents God's messenger instead of seeking God. It sets up Elisha's calm foreknowledge and the king's repentant restraint that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ruth 1:17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
- 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
- Jer 37:15–16Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
- Acts 23:12–13And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
- 2 Sam 19:13And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
- John 11:50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
- 1 Kgs 18:17And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
- Jer 38:4Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
- 1 Kgs 22:8And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
- 1 Sam 3:17And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
- 1 Kgs 2:23Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
- 2 Sam 3:35And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
- 1 Sam 25:22So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
- 2 Sam 3:9So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 6:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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